\Pros*tra"tion\, n. [L. prostratio: cf. F.
prostration.]
1. The act of prostrating, throwing down, or laying fiat; as,
the prostration of the body.
2. The act of falling down, or of bowing in humility or
adoration; primarily, the act of falling on the face, but
usually applied to kneeling or bowing in reverence and
worship.
A greater prostration of reason than of body.
--Shak.
3. The condition of being prostrate; great depression;
lowness; dejection; as, a postration of spirits. ``A
sudden prostration of strength.'' --Arbuthnot.
4. (Med.) A latent, not an exhausted, state of the vital
energies; great oppression of natural strength and vigor.
Note: Prostration, in its medical use, is analogous to the
state of a spring lying under such a weight that it is
incapable of action; while exhaustion is analogous to
the state of a spring deprived of its elastic powers.
The word, however, is often used to denote any great
depression of the vital powers.